


Convictions and Hypocrisy

by Diary



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bechdel Test Pass, Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Bottle Episode Fic, Conversations, Female Antagonist, Female Anti-Hero, Female-Centric, Gen, Hermione Granger-centric, Hogwarts Sixth Year, Morally Ambiguous Character, POV Hermione Granger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-10
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2018-11-12 09:37:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11159196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: During sixth year, Hermione and Pansy talk about Marietta Edgecombe. Complete.





	Convictions and Hypocrisy

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Harry Potter.

Looking up from her book, Hermione tenses when Pansy Parkinson sits down next to her.

“Want to hear why your ridiculous S.P.E.W will never work, Granger?”

Steeling herself, Hermione answers, “Thank you, I’ve already been told by numerous-”

“And you’ll never stop, no matter how many people tell you,” Pansy interjects. “I know. But I don’t think you’ve heard this. I think you’ll find it useful.”

Suddenly feeling defeated, Hermione tiredly asks, “Pansy, what are you playing at?”

“House elves are magically bound to serve their masters or houses. If they try to break free, the consequences are great. You know that, but here’s a story, and you can look it up in the library: Moira Black, formerly Nott, she was burned off her family’s tapestry. She hurt her baby and eventually killed him. He was barely two.”

“That’s terrible,” Hermione quietly says.

Pansy shrugs. “That’s not exactly why she was burned off. The Notts and Blacks- they might have protected her. Maybe, they would have killed her themselves or locked her up. But whatever they did, they weren’t ever going to let anyone know what really happened to the baby.”

“Unfortunately for them, one of the family house elves took itself to the ministry and told. She was brought to justice, everyone knew, and the house elf lived for about a year in horrible agony. He or she, whatever it was, well, it was a traitor of the worst sort. No one will ever know its name. No one knows what happened to the body.”

“Tell me, Pansy, do you think that’s right? Even with how lowly you think of house elves, surely, you can appreciate how brave-”

“Traitors aren’t tolerated, Granger. You know that better than anyone. It doesn’t matter if they’re threatened with death or torture, if they’re loved ones are, if they’re confused and make a stupid mistake. It doesn’t matter how much they honestly believe they’re doing the right thing. If they tell, they deserve-”

“Compassion and understanding or, at the very least, not inhumane punishments,” Hermione hotly interjects. “If a person is trying to protect a loved one or if they know something being done is wrong, there are right and wrong ways to handle it, yes, but there are things no one deserves, and yes, I’m including house elves and other so-called lower beings.”

“Really? I don’t know Marietta Edgecombe, but I’ve heard her mum was in danger and she told Umbridge about your stupid little club to try to save her. Even if that isn’t the case, are you going to tell me that _you_ know her on a deeply personal level and know that she didn’t tell because of some strong belief that your club was doing more harm than good?”

Hermione’s stomach drops, but before she can get her mind to settle and verbally respond, Pansy scoffs. “She has more scars than Potter does, and unlike him, she can’t just hide hers by growing out a fringe. If Potter does win against the Dark Lord, oh, her mum will definitely lose her job, and Marietta will never get a decent one. No one goes against Precious Potter, right?”

Taking a calming breath, Hermione replies, “It’s different.”

Pansy looks at her with intent eyes. “How, Granger? Honestly, how is it different? You tell me, and I swear, I won’t say a word until you’re done.”

Looking over at the water, Hermione tries to compose her thoughts.

“It’s different. _When_ Harry wins, no one is going to care about what she did any more than what the likes of Malfoy have done. Childhood bullies always have a choice to change. Marietta could have talked to me or Harry. Cho should have encouraged her to do so. Her pimples will fade, and so will the scars. I imagine she’ll be able to find a charm or potion to vanish or hide them, as well. Whether your side wants everyone to acknowledge it or not, we’re at war, Pansy. Even in war, there are lines, but I’m not going to apologise for dealing with threats to Harry and everyone else willing to fight Voldemort.”

She glances over. “I’m done.”

“Are you saying you or Potter were close to Marietta? Had either of you ever talked to her? I’m like you, I wouldn’t have any trouble talking to a stranger about something I thought was important, but I know that not everyone is like that. What with how close you are to Longbottom, I’d think you would, too. Oh, and so, it’s _Cho’s_ fault for you deciding to jinx something and not tell anyone what they were signing?”

“It’s-”

“You’re wrong, Granger. Draco’s family is old, strong, and powerful. Whoever wins, they’ll come out alright. Others, though- if Potter wins, Marietta’s always going to be compared to the likes of Sirius Black.”

Hermione bites her tongue. She knows Sirus is a hero, and no one should ever compare Marietta to such a great man, but the rest of the wizarding world doesn’t, and for Harry’s sake, it’s best to keep it this way for now.

“No one is going to trust her or want to associate with her. If she has kids, they’ll be teased or worse for what she did. Don’t try to claim you don’t know that, if it weren’t Cho getting chucked into detention every week, people wouldn’t be doing much worse to Marietta.”

“Cho’s been getting detention?”

“Anyone starts slinging insults or, worse, spells or potions at Marietta, Cho has her wand aimed. I’d almost feel sorry for her. Her boyfriend dies, and now, everyone wants to hurt her best mate.”

Ron pops into Hermione’s head. He’s never said anything about what she did to Marietta, but for all he can be brilliantly strategical, when it comes to people who’ve wronged him or those he cares about, he’s not cunningly vengeful. He’ll throw a hex, insult, or even a punch, but-  

It’s not vengeance, she tells herself. It was a way to protect Dumbledore’s Army, and it worked. Whatever Marietta’s reasons, she handled things badly, and she could have gotten people seriously hurt or worse.

“Why are you defending Marietta, Pansy?”

“I’m not,” Pansy answers. “I’m just making a point about how much of a big hypocrite you are, Granger. This is my biggest problem with muggle-borns. You come into wizarding society and immediately start trying to change everything you think should be different. You don’t bother to really learn why things are the way they are.”

The words tumble out before she can stop them, “Ron said something similar.”

Pansy shrugs. “I know you read everything you can, Granger. In some ways, you can probably say why things are better than purebloods can. But you don’t listen to most of us. You don’t try to understand. You just try to make us listen and understand you.”

Frowning, Hermione says, “Even if I were to agree that applied to me, which I’m not and don’t, do you genuinely believe that  _all_ muggle-borns-”

“No,” Pansy answers. “Just a bunch of them. But that isn’t the point. This is war, Granger. We both know that. I’ll never join the death eaters. Or at least, I hope I won’t ever have to. I don’t want to fight. But if I have to, I’ll do whatever I have to, to keep myself and my family alive and safe. I don’t care who I might have to pledge myself to. You don’t like or agree with that, but we have this in common: We both know there might be horrible consequences in store, and we’ll both do what think we have to even knowing.”

“Marietta might have just been a scared little girl who didn’t really understand what all was really happening and thought that telling about a secret club was the best way to help. Let’s face it, if it were a different club you weren’t a part of, that you didn’t agree with, you’d be telling as soon as you found out, not months later when there was pressure on you. Now, she has more scars than the Dark Lord gave Potter, and just like that nameless, dead house elf, people aren’t going to think her brave or decent. She made a decision to tell something she knew, and no one is going to care if she ends up dead soon or if someone does something vile when Cho isn’t around.”

Hermione takes a deep breath. “You haven’t truly answered why-”

“Because, I did have a bit of respect for you, Granger. Yeah, I insult people, I’m rubbish at Transfiguration, and I know no one would call me ‘pretty’ without it being a joke. I have a load of bad habits, and the boy I love will never love me back. I know I might end up being called a coward or worse when the war’s over. But like I said, I’ll do what I think I need to. All the bad things that could be said about you, though, I thought you always did stick to your principles, especially when it came to the really big stuff.”

“But, if someone hurt you because you exposed something you thought you needed to, if someone hurt Weasley, his family, or Potter, or anyone else you cared about, you’d go against them with everything you’ve got. You’ll spend all your life thinking about some worthless house elf and wishing you knew its name and could give it something after death. The one you hurt, though, permanently scarred and made a target by your own, that’s different.”

“I-”

“No one can call me a hypocrite, Granger,” Pansy finishes. “The only important thing I stand for is me getting out of this bloody war alive and unharmed. Every bad thing I do, I wouldn’t make a big fuss about someone else doing. Someone hurts me or mine, I’ll try to hurt them back, but I won’t claim that I’m the better person and that what I’m doing is something completely different. ‘Cause, it isn’t. It’s me trying to hurt someone, and I don’t care whether people think I’m wrong or not, as long as I don’t end up punished by the likes of Dumbledore, the Dark Lord, or the ministry.”

“I’ve never understand how people can take pride in their lack of convictions,” Hermione informs her.

“It isn't really pride, Granger. The Dark Lord has convictions, and so do other purebloods who stand against you. Potter’s mum and dad had them. Cho's convictions keep landing her in detention, and if Potter's telling the truth, her boyfriend's convictions were what helped get him killed. I don’t understand them, and I might find people who have them annoying, but- Everyone makes mistakes, and sometimes, people change their minds about big things. I know. But I suppose you could say that I have this conviction: People should stick to what they say they believe, and if they don’t, the least they could do is admit that they didn’t.”

Pansy stands up. “You never will, though, will you, Granger? Whatever the story, if Marietta never believed in the greatness of Potter’s club, there’s a good chance all you did was make her admit that she stuck her to beliefs, her convictions, where you didn’t. Wonder if that’s enough of a punishment for you?”

She walks off, and Hermione stares after her with a painful ache in her stomach, her head pounding, and tears threatening to spill out.


End file.
